Goals

Before leaving Moody for the summer we were asked to come up with GOALS for our internship. We had to have 3 spiritual goals and 3 personal goals. One of my personal goals was to read 3-4 books on Urban Ministry. Now if you know me very well, you know that reading is not my favorite past time, however; when thinking/praying about what my goals should be I felt the Lord laying this goal on my heart. So with all that being said, I have chosen my first book for the summer. I started reading " A heart for the City" by John Fuder. The author is a professor at Moody in the Grad department. The book focuses mainly on ministry in Chicago, but also gives a broad scope of Urban Ministry. I was given the day "off" today, which in reality is never truly a day off when you live in the neighborhood where you're ministering. I was awakened early this morning, (early being 8:30) to a phone call that someone needed in the building next door to start doing lawn work. Well this youth who was doing lawn work was 15 minutes late and then needed someone from the building just about every half hour. I was in my apartment and would get a text from him saying he needed something else, so I would rush over to him and let him back in. Needless to say this morning I wasnt really off-duty. This young man lives down the street in a small home that occupies close to 15 people. There is hardly ever enough food for the kids and they wear the same clothes for a week. I could tell today that Kevin was hungry, but that didnt stop him from working hard. I felt the Lord nudge me to make him a sandwich and give him a piece of fruit. I made him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and gave him a banana. He looked at me like he had just won the lottery. I then proceeded to go to a coffee shop and read for the afternoon.. yes Mom, you read that right- TO READ! I wrote down quotes from the pages I read, which I might share later. Right now, as I sit and write this I look out my front window and see two of my neighbors sitting outside smoking. Both of these women are ex-crack addicts turned Christians. They both LOVE the Lord but still struggle with addiction. I dont have to go far to find people who need encouragement or Christ's love- they are right outside my window. I praise God for that.

Who are the people in your neighborhood who don't know the Lord or who have turned away from him. Seek them out and offer then Christ's love and share the GOSPEL with them. We live in a hungry world. You may not see it from the outside, but people are craving God on the inside. Be that light in your neighborhood, be the salt and light that Matthew talks about in his 5th chapter. We're all called to this command, not just missionaries or people in "full-time minsitry"- EVERYONE, including YOU!